Anyone doing intermittent fast

Luckee_me

Hello out there,
I’m a feisty 56 year old and would love some friends who are also doing intermittent fasting.
I do 20:4 and have lost 87 pounds since 10/1/19.
any other fasters out there?

DrTeeeevil

Wow! Congratulations on losing 87 lbs!! That's incredible in only 7.5 months! Did you start with 20:4 IF or work up to that? I started 17:7 a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd see how it goes for a month before changing anything. So far, so good! Thinking of changing to 18:6 in June. I don't think I could do 20:4 to be honest. At least not for long term. Any advice or lessons learned regarding IF overall (or on 20:4!) given your experience and success?

eminater

Hi, I recently started 16:8 as I read some people on hear said it helped them with consistency. Turned out that 16:8 is very natural to me, and especially in lockdown. It's just very convenient and I have never been a "breakfast" person. One thing I have learned is that I put more effort into my "break fast" meal which comes a lot later into the day, and that I feel really awesome in the mornings, and a lot more satiated by the end of the day.

16:8 hasn't pushed my boundaries very much to be honest - to the point where 'fasting' seems like an exaggeration. More like waiting a couple hours to eat. And less be honest, unless you live a privileged life - I think having to wait a short while for a meal feels comfortable and normal. It's nice to build up an appetite.

What are the advantages of 20:4? How many meals can you manage in 4 hours? Do you eat in the middle of the day or the evening? Do you keep the eating window strictly the same time everyday?

Luckee_me

@eminater I clean fast just water and black tea in the fast and I usually do two meals a day.
My window is usually 1pm -5pm.
So I have a nice meal and then a snack before my window closes.
I’m still trying to stay under 1300 calories in a day.

Luckee_me

DrTeeeevil wrote: »

Wow! Congratulations on losing 87 lbs!! That's incredible in only 7.5 months! Did you start with 20:4 IF or work up to that? I started 17:7 a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd see how it goes for a month before changing anything. So far, so good! Thinking of changing to 18:6 in June. I don't think I could do 20:4 to be honest. At least not for long term. Any advice or lessons learned regarding IF overall (or on 20:4!) given your experience and success?

Thank you very much.
I jumped right in with 20:4, some days were a struggle but honestly it got me out of my head as far as the “6 little meals” idea. I thought about food, but just as far as “what wonderful meal am I going to make?” Instead of how will I manage 3 snacks and 3 meals in 1300 calories.
I will say that I had a lot better success when I started clean fasting, with just black tea and Perrier and water in during my fast. Giving up diet pop was the hardest for me.

DrTeeeevil

Agreed! The idea of "grazing" throughout the day was hard for me to manage my daily calories, had me thinking about food constantly when I wasn't eating, and left me persistently hungry even after small meals. With IF, it takes less mental energy, I feel satiated after eating, my body knows when to expect food, and I've cut out all the snacking (which honestly just led to more hunger for me and I don't feel like I need to snack anymore now because I'm satiated after my huge 600-700 calorie meals). This just works better for me, I feel great, and I think I'll try keeping it up as a lifestyle choice, but adjusting the calories upwards to maintain rather than lose weight when that time comes for me. Maybe I'll try 20:4 in June just to see how that feels. I haven't actually tried it - just assumed it would be too aggressive for me... but who knows until I give it a go, right?! You've inspired me!!

Anyway, do either of you feel that you'll continue with some form of IF after you hit your goal weight or do you have a different plan in mind?

SwolehouseBrotown

I fast every night while I sleep.

Luckee_me

DouchetownBrohouse wrote: »

I fast every night while I sleep.

Hey me too! Look we have something in common. 🤣

Luckee_me

DrTeeeevil wrote: »

Agreed! The idea of "grazing" throughout the day was hard for me to manage my daily calories, had me thinking about food constantly when I wasn't eating, and left me persistently hungry even after small meals. With IF, it takes less mental energy, I feel satiated after eating, my body knows when to expect food, and I've cut out all the snacking (which honestly just led to more hunger for me and I don't feel like I need to snack anymore now because I'm satiated after my huge 600-700 calorie meals). This just works better for me, I feel great, and I think I'll try keeping it up as a lifestyle choice, but adjusting the calories upwards to maintain rather than lose weight when that time comes for me. Maybe I'll try 20:4 in June just to see how that feels. I haven't actually tried it - just assumed it would be too aggressive for me... but who knows until I give it a go, right?! You've inspired me!!

Anyway, do either of you feel that you'll continue with some form of IF after you hit your goal weight or do you have a different plan in mind?

You sound like me, I’ve cut out the snacking especially at night which was always when I did that, I am able to go out with friends and family (Vegas is opening up a little post virus) and actually order something I like, plus still have room for a snack before my window closes.

I do feel like that I will continue this style of eating, although I’m not sure what that will look like, if nothing else I’ll not be eating between meals, so maybe longer window and three balanced meals? I’ve never been a breakfast girl unless it’s to go out for breakfast.

20:4 wasn’t hard for me late lunch early dinner done by 5 o’clock, but I’ll admit some days I’m watching the clock for 1 pm.

Have a great day.
Glenda

33Freya

Yes, working back from 16/8 to OMAD (easier when I have to write everything down) and doing at least 1 72-hour fast per month.

Staypositive35

I do 16:8 I've lost 25 lbs since december, kind of got stagnant in the last couple of months tho

ccrdragon

33Freya wrote: »

Yes, working back from 16/8 to OMAD (easier when I have to write everything down) and doing at least 1 72-hour fast per month.

I'm curious why you do this?

33Freya

ccrdragon wrote: »

33Freya wrote: »

Yes, working back from 16/8 to OMAD (easier when I have to write everything down) and doing at least 1 72-hour fast per month.

I'm curious why you do this?

Two reasons: 16/8 (eat all your food in an 8-hour window) lowers insulin and keeps me from grazing too much. The 72 hour fast is a great reset (see Dr. Jason Fung for the why on that), and I always come out of those fasts feeling fabulous and ready to take good care of my eating habits.

AmiePalmers

Yes, doing 16:8 or longer when not hungry.

NovusDies

33Freya wrote: »

ccrdragon wrote: »

33Freya wrote: »

Yes, working back from 16/8 to OMAD (easier when I have to write everything down) and doing at least 1 72-hour fast per month.

I'm curious why you do this?

Two reasons: 16/8 (eat all your food in an 8-hour window) lowers insulin and keeps me from grazing too much. The 72 hour fast is a great reset (see Dr. Jason Fung for the why on that), and I always come out of those fasts feeling fabulous and ready to take good care of my eating habits.

Those 72 hour fasts will get harder and more miserable with frequency and more weight loss. In the near future, if you survive this plan for long enough, you will reset your opinions about this being a good idea. In the meantime each time you do it while you are losing weight you will burn an increasingly larger amount of muscle during these fasts to provide energy.

Weight loss is boring. It is done by eating slightly less total energy than your body needs to operate and move. If someone tries to put a new spin on it you should ignore them completely. None of Fung's work has held up in human research studies. The conclusion as of now is that the parts that works in humans was going to work anyway because weight loss makes you healthier all by itself.

Many here will say Fung is a quack and is viewed so by the medical community. I have never looked into it to know whether or not it is true but based on what I have read it seems likely.